A 35-year diplomatic standoff between the United States and Iran has come to an, with the U.S. and Iran announcing a tentative six-party deal meant to limit advancements in Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing economic sanctions that have hurt Iran’s economy.

The deal sets a six-month window for the parties to work toward a long-term deal solidifying the basic terms regarding Iran’s nuclear program and Western economic sanctions.

“This deal could bring us closer to a world less threatened by weapons of mass destruction. We should now press forward to do even more in pursuit of peace,” said U.S. Sen.Tim Kaine, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs.

Kaine said as Senate leaders review the deal that the U.S. “will not tolerate an Iran with nuclear weapons because that will make the region – and the world – dramatically less safe.”

“If this interim deal reduces stockpiles of enriched uranium to levels appropriate only for civilian use, halts uranium enrichment above dangerous levels, reduces technology that can be used to enhance enrichment, and imposes intrusive daily inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency that can give the world immediate warning if Iran plans to move toward nuclear weapons, it will be an important trust building step toward our ultimate goal,” Kaine said.

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Augusta Free Press launched in 2002. The site serves as a portal into life in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia – in a region encompassing Augusta County, Albemarle County and Nelson County and the cities of Charlottesville, Staunton and Waynesboro, at the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park and the Appalachian Trail.